Vermont

The state of Vermont covers 9615 square miles, bounded to the west by Lake Champlain and to the east by the Connecticut River. Although it extends into Canada, Lake Champlain lies largely between Vermont and New York, stretching 110 miles in length and covering 435 square miles. It reaches a depth of up to 400 ft and drains northward to the St. Lawrence River. The highly eroded and rounded Green Mountains, running north to south between the Champlain and Connecticut river valleys, are not as dramatic as New York's Adirondacks to the west or New Hampshire's White Mountains to the east, but still include four peaks of over 4000 ft. Mount Mansfield, in the northern end of the range, is the highest point, reaching 4393 feet. In addition, the shorter Taconic Range clips the state's southwestern corner, while the extreme northeast, known as the Northeast Kingdom, is the portion of the state with the most boreal character. Montane areas tend to be well forested, although the Champlain Valley is quite agrarian. The state takes pride in its low population of just 623,050, which at just 66 people/square mile make it the most sparsely settled state in the Northeast.

A total of xxx bird species have been recorded in Vermont (xxx), of which about xxx are known to breed regularly or occasionally. Click here to download an excel spreadsheet showing the bird species of Vermont and their conservation status based on various criteria. This file also has population estimates for Vermont of key landbirds, based on the Partners in Flight Landbird Population Estimates database housed at Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.

AKN RESOURCES 

Six AKN datasets have data from Vermont, totaling 454,809 observations!

	# Obs	# Loc	# Taxa
Breeding Bird Survey	55,554	22	152
eBird	221,505	3358	411
Great Backyard Bird Count	29,140	329	110
Hawk Count	1229	1	17
Mountain Birdwatch	10,684	184	52
Project Feederwatch	136,697	286	135
TOTAL	454,809	4131	582

**A file of the complete AKN dataset for Vermont can be downloaded here.**

The AKN Bar Charts provide an easy way to view AKN data from Vermont, showing a summary of all species reported for the state and their temporal frequency throughout the year. Click here or on the image below to view a bar chart summarizing all AKN data from Vermont or click here to generate your own bar chart.



Additional bar charts using just eBird data allow one to generate bar charts for specific refuges, parks, and other "hot" birding locations (hotspots). You can customize a bar chart for any state, county, BCR, or hotspot. A customized bar chart can be generated for one or multiple Vermont locations, and please note that you can select as many locations as you wish. It is also possible to explore frequency maps for a species, and within eBird those maps can be refined to view point maps for just Vermont.

The AKN Google Earth files provide a way to explore AKN data for Vermont geographically. Click here or on the image below to download a Google Earth file showing all datapoints for the state of Vermont. Using Google Earth, a free application, you can then explore the spatial distribution of the various datasets and also see summaries of the data by clicking on the points. For more on how to use these files, click here.



A number of additional projects have data from Vermont not yet represented in the AKN. The Northeast Coordinated Bird Monitoring Network has compiled a Register of Northeast Bird Monitoring Programs; to get a similar file with only the Vermont projects, click here.

BIRD HABITATS AND CONSERVATION IN VERMONT

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Vermont IBAs

The Vermont Important Bird Area (IBA) program has identified 13 IBAs across the state, from the Green Mountains to Lake Champlain and the Northeast Kingdom. Vermont's IBAs are listed below. For more information on the Vermont IBA program, click here or contact the state IBA director:

Jim Shallow
Conservation and Policy Director
Audubon Vermont
Huntington, Vermont
(802) 434-3068
jshallow@audubon.org

	IBA Name	Status	Counties
1	Berlin Pond IBA	Identified	Washington
2	Common Loon Nesting Lakes	Recognized	Bennington, Caledonia, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, Rutland, Washington
3	Dead Creek WMA IBA	Identified	Addison
4	Delta Park IBA	Identified	Chittenden
5	Green Mountain Audubon/Birds of Vermont IBA	Recognized	Chittenden
6	Herricks Cove IBA	Identified	Windham
7	Hubbardton Marshes/Lake Bomoseen IBA	Identified	Rutland
8	Little Otter Creek WMA IBA	Identified	Addison
9	Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge IBA	Identified	Franklin
10	Mud Creek WMA IBA	Identified	Grand Isle
11	Nulhegan Basin IBA	Identified	Essex
12	Poultney River/East Bay IBA	Identified	Rutland
13	West Rutland Marsh IBA	Identified	Rutland

 

ORNITHOLOGICAL RESOURCES

State agency:

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
103 South Main Street
Waterbury, VT 05671-0501
fwinformation@state.vt.us
Phone: 802-241-3700
Fax: 802-241-3295
http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/

Vermont Center for Ecostudies:

Devoted to research and conservation of wildlife both in Vermont and beyond, VCE is an independent organization based in central Vermont. Among their many bird-related projects are Mountain Birdwatch, Vermont eBird, and the Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas.

Vermont Center for Ecostudies
PO Box 420
Norwich, VT 05055
(802) 649-1431
info@vtecostudies.org
http://www.vtecostudies.org/

State Records Committee:

Rosalind Renfrew
Vermont Institute of Natural Science
27023 Church Hill Road
Woodstock, VT 05091
rrenfrew@vinsweb.org
http://www.vtecostudies.org/vbrc/

Other links:

Vermont eBird: Vermont has an active, state-specific eBird portal which is a cooperative effort of several Vermont organizations. Here you can report your birding observations, whether from a week long trip throughout the state or backyard sightings while gardening. All sightings are valuable and will be automatically integrated with the Avian Knowledge Network and Northeast Avian Data Center. Read more about eBird or submit observations now!

Mountain Birdwatch: This study monitors the status of hgih elevation montane bird communities, with a special focus on Bicknell's Thrush and several other species of concern, on mountaintops throughout the Northeast. Mountain Birdwatch is conducted by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and the data are available through NADC and the AKN; read more here.

The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas: The Vermont Breeding Bird Atlas was conducted from 2003 to 2007. Data are can be reviewed here.

International Bicknell's Thrush Conservation Group: Devoted to the conservation of this species throughout its range, from breeding areas in Vermont to its wintering grounds in the Caribbean. The Vermont Center for Ecostudies is one of the active partners with this group and Mountain Birdwatch is one of the key research initiatives for this species in the Northeast.